In The Major Fiction of William Gilmore Simms,
Mary Ann Wimsatt argues that Border Beagles, the sequel to the
scandalous Richard Hurdis, shows Simms as continuing to explore the
contentious relationship between the older, civilized tidewater south and the
wild trans-mountain frontier.[1]
While thus continuing a theme begun with Guy Rivers and Richard
Hurdis, Border Beagles saw Simms decidedly scaling back
the violence found in those two books, especially the latter. Here, the
author’s presentation of the chaos and dangers of the frontier is tempered by
humor, with ...

Though the first edition of Atalantis.
A Story of the Sea (1832) was well received by reviewers both North
and South, it had only one printing. The
limited print run of just 500 copies meant that relatively few readers could
enjoy the many “uncommonly strong and vigorous passages” that comprised William
Gilmore Simms’s fanciful tale.[1] Simms was early convinced that a larger
readership existed and that Atalantis offered
him an opportunity to increase his reputation in both the Northern states and
Europe. In 1837 he wrote to James
Lawson, one of his best friends ...